Titanium and zirconium organic compounds



United States ,atent O TITANIUM AND 'ZIRCONIUM ORGANIC COMPOUNDS Harry H. Beacham, Plainfield, andrDaniel F. Herman, Orange," NiJL; assig'norsto. National'Lead Company, NewYorl-r, N. Y., a corporation ofNew Jersey NoDrawing Application November 9, 1954 Serial No. 467,875

6 Claims; (Cl. 260-4295) Thisinvention relates -10: organometallic:: compounds. More. specifically, it; relates: to t organornetallic 1 esters: of certain 'aminoalcohols 9 as' hereinafter: described; Still more specifically,-iorelates-to the titanates 'andxzirconates of: said ami-noalcoholsz This is .in:part"a .continuatiorrgof our copending applications-Serial. No.;i291,997, filed June 5,,1952.

, Anobjecnof-this invention is to'provide novel organotitanium and rorganozirconiumcompounds; Another object of thisxinvention is'. to aprovidexorganic. compounds of titaniumand 1 zirconium which are' solublerboth in water and incommonworganic; solvents; Other. objects and advant-ages :will be apparent fromrthe following more complete.description:andelaims;

Broadly, this invention:rcontemplates a chemical zcompound comprising an ester of. an'element from the group consisting of titanium and'zirconium, and an aminoalcohol having the: general formula 2 RI! RI in which the-R group is*-selected from the: group consist+ ing of ethylene and alkyl-substituted ethylene radicals,.at least one of the/R groups is selected fiom thejgr oupcon sisting of flhydroxyalkyland p-arninoalkyl' radicals and the-remainingR' groups are selected trom'the' group con-. sisting offl-hydroxyalkyl and fl-arninoalkylradicals and hydrogen, and R is selected from the'group consisting of divalent alkylene radicals containing from 1 to, 3 carbon atoms and divalent alkylene amine radicals .repre sentable by the formula:

where n is from 1 to 2 and X is selected from the group consisting of "hydrogen, alkyl hydrocarbon groups containingfrom 1 to 3 carbon atoms, fl-hydroxyalkyl and fl-aminoalkyl' radicals.

The preferredand mostuseful compounds of this 'invention contain more than= one aminoalcoholic hydroxyl group for each titanium atom, and foreach 5 carbon atoms at least one group selected from the class consisting of hydroxyl and amino groups, said hydroxyl or amino group being present as a substituent in an R group of the above formula.

Ainong-the preferred ami'n'oalcohols for=use in th'preparation of the compounds of this invention'are -Quadrolf (N,N,N",N=" tetrakis('2 hydroxypropynethylene di amine) N ,N,N-tri(p hydroxyethyl diethylene triamine:

NgN -diw-hydroxyethyn diethylene'triamine, and the like. Whilethis invention will, for thesake ofconvenience, be described with particular reference to the titanate esters of theclass described, ibis to be understoodthat the description applies equallywell,.in all material respects, to the corresponding zirconate esters.

All-"ofithe compounds of "this invention are water-soluble; "but those of lower molecularweight exhibit greattr 211 ittisatherefore vperferred itouuse aminoa-lcohols having :no morevthan about three carbon atoms in each' alkyl' group of.thet abovewforrnula. Similarly, .in thencase of mixed alleylg-aminoalkyl titanates, it is preferred to haveno more than aboutthreecarbonatoms in the al'k'y'l group.

Themumber of hydroxyl groups-in= the aminoalcohol moleculehasalso beenifoundtoexert an infiuenceupon water-solubility and' it has been found, in general, that a high degree :ofwvatensolubility is obtained when there is at'least-one aminoalcoholic hydroxyl group 'for each five carbonaatoms in lthe titanate molecule; or i more than one aminoalcoholic hydroxyl group for each titanium atom, whichever. number ofhydroXyl-groups is greater. Amino groups as-substituents inthe alkyl R groups of the aminoalcoholappear to exert a solubilizing action"similar to thatrof the, hydroxyl groupsandimaybe substituted to some=.extent therefor. Forexampleflhe product produced by, the ester-:in terchangereactionof 4 mols of N-(B-hydroxyethyl')diethylenetriamine: with one mol of tetrabutyl titanate contains less than one hydroxylgroup for eac h five carbon atoms, but is nevertheless: highly soluble inuwater; These-substituent amino groups are not entire ly equivalent-iin their efict to 'hydroxyl groups, however, andrrit is still prederable-td have more'than 1 amino-alcohGllC hYdFOXY YigEOHP present the. titanate: molecule for eachs titanium'tatom; 1 i

It should be noted that, inrall of*th-foregoing:discussion,-tthe:numberofhydroxyl groups is understood to in .cludetthose:hydroXyls WhichIare'. esterified with the titaniumw'as well-1 as these, if any, which re'mainiunesterified. This t-simplificationqis justifiedi becausedhe total number of hydroxyl dandus'ubstituent amino) groups apparently controls thet-degree' of solubility, regardless of whether the hydroxyls: are tree-or ester'ified to R -O--Ti-- configurations. i

Thee water-soluble aminoalcoh'ol titanates-of thisinv'entioninray be prepared inmanyi Ways; One of themost convenientzof: such: ways is by a simple ester interchange reactiombetween' ran: aminoalcohol 1 and an alkyl titanatc. While substantially any alkyl titanate rnay-b'e' used iii-this tyrieaofrreactioh, it is particularly convenient to-choose yanlalkyl titanate .which'is theorthotitanic acid ester of 'awrelatively"low-boiling alcohol, such as, for example, 'butyl-ititanate. When such analkyl titanate ischosen, theraminoalcohol'titanate may beprepared 'by simply mixing :the alkyl titanatewith theaminoalcohol ina suitableivessehlwhereupon an ester interchange occurs with liberation of heat to produce-the aminoalcohol titanate in; alcoholics solution. If itis desired-"to isolate the aminoaicoholztitanate from the liberated alcohol, thisniay be: accomplished by simply heating to drive-offithe liberated lower-boiling alcohol. lt is often desirable to carrysouttthe reaction and distillation underreduced pressureeasithe distillation can then becarried outat a materially lower temperature, thus avoiding the danger of undesirable side reactions. The exact mechanism of the reactions. involved is unknown, but the re-sult'appears to be a substitution of Ti for H in the first formula irr'claim 1, and, in some cases a similar-substitution of Ti for the HS in the other free hydroxyl groups of. R, and R", when such arepresent;

Thecomposition of'the aminoalcolrol titan'ate products madeaccording to thismethod. is determined by. the quantities-- of alkyl titanate and aminoalcohol employed. Normal aminoalcohol titanate esters will be. produced if the-qpantityfof aminoalcohol is suflicient .to provide .four alcoholic hydroxyl groups for. each molecule of .alkyl titanateu If less than this quantity is used, .the products produced will be mixed alkylaminoalkyl titanates Another" convenient method of, preparing the watersolirblc aminoalcohol'titanates'of thisinvention is to react the appropriate aminoalcohol directly with orthotitanic 3 acid. Orthotitanic acid may be prepared, for example, by room temperature hydrolysis of titanium salt solutions followed by filtration and washing to remove soluble hydrolysis products such as acids or salts. The so-produced orthotitanic acid pulp is then mixed with the aminoalcohol and heated until it dissolved. Solubilization of the orthotitanic acid pulp is accompanied by reaction with the aminoalcohol to produce the aminoalcohol titanate products of this invention. The aminoalcohol titanates produced according to this procedure normally have slight ly condensed structures, containing TiOTi linkages to satisfy at least some of the titanium valencies not satisfied by aminoalkoxy groups. They are still, however, water-soluble, and especially so if their composition includes the preferred number of aminoalcoholic hydroxyl groups, etc., as specified above. In this connection it should be pointed out that while R-OTi groups are counted as esterified aminoalcoholic hydroxyl groups (R here standing for the aminoalkyl group), TiO-Ti linkages are not included in this computation. The novel products of this invention, therefore, also include partially condensed aminoalcohol titanates, that is polymeric products containing titanium atoms linked together by oxygen atoms.

These condensed compositions may also be prepared by reaction of the aminoalcohols as above described with condensed alkyl titanates which have been prepared by partial hydrolysis of ordinary monomeric alkyl titanates. Such condensed titanates may be prepared for example by the addition of small quantities of water to the ordinary alkyl titanates.

'A particularly convenient method of preparation of condensed aminoalcohol titanates is to react alkyl titanates with aminoalcohols in the presence of Water.

Condensed aminoalcohol titanates produced in any of these ways are similar in characteristics to the ordinary aminoalcohol titanates except that they tend to be somewhat more viscous and in general less reactive.

Also to be considered within the scope of the present invention are polymeric compositions which tend to be formed by reason of the polyfunctionality of both the titanium and the aminoalcohol. Because most of the aminoalcohols herein contemplated have at least two aminoalcoholic hydroxyl groups, there arises the possibility that the various hydroxyls of a given aminoalcohol molecule will be linked to different atoms of titanium. Since titanium is polyvalent, each of the atoms thereof linked to a given aminoalcohol nucleus is capable of being linked to additional aminoalcohols. By repetition, complex chains or cross-linked structures may be set up. The resulting polymers, although not as rapidly soluble in Water as the monomers or slightly polymerized structures, nevertheless do dissolve to a very considerable extent. The term water-soluble as used herein is understood to mean that compounds or compositions so described are capable of forming aqueous solutions, and the term is understood to exclude substance which, like ethyl, propyl and butyl titanates, for example, are spontaneously hydrolyzed in the presence of water.

The following examples are presented to further illustrate the nature and preparation of the aminoalcohol titanates of this invention.

Example I 29.2 parts of Quadrol, N,N,N',N-tetrakis(Z-hydroxypropyl) ethylene diamine were added to 56.8 parts of tetraisopropyl titanate, corresponding to a molar ratio of 1:2 Quadrol to isopropyl titanate. The addition was carried out slowly with stirring and considerable heat was liberated. Most of the liberated isopropyl alcohol was driven olf by the heat of reaction. The remaining product was a viscous lemon-yellow oil consisting essentially of Quadrol titanate, probably containing various molecular species including excess unreacted Quadrol. The liquid was soluble in benzene, mineral spirits, butanol, and in water, the latter forming an aqueone solution having a pH of 7. This liquid Quadrol titanate was diluted to a 1% solution in water and used as a dispersing agent for an acidic aqueous slurry of titanium dioxide pigment. One volume of the dilute solution added to approximatelylOO volumes of 10% pigment slurry at pH 5 was found to efiectively disperse the pigment in the aqueous medium.

Example II The procedure of Example I was repeated except that only half the quantity (i. e. 28.4 parts) of isopropyl titanate was used, corresponding to a molar ratio of 1:1 Quadrol to isopropyl titanate. The resulting product was a viscous light-yellow oil similar in appearance to the product of Example I and having similar solubility characteristics. This product may be considered essentially a normal Quadrol titanate although again it is probable that several molecular species were present including residual isopropoxy groups on some titanium atoms and unreacted Qaudrol hydroxyl groups. Upon standing several hours the product solidified to a semicrystalline buttery consistency. The solid product was soluble in water and butanol, but insoluble in benzene and mineral spirits. This change in state of aggregation and solubility characteristics was ascribed to a gradual rearrangement of the ester linkages to form more sterically stable configurations involving polymeric molecular species. Such rearrangement is of course possible because of the polyfunctionality of both the titanium atom and the Quadro molecule. Having undergone this inversion, the product remained unchanged in appearance and properties for several weeks.

Example III The procedure of Example I was again repeated, but using a 2:1 ratio of Quadrol to isopropyl titanate, i. e. 58.4 parts Quadrol and 28.4 parts isopropyl titanate. An appreciable amount of heat was liberated upon mixing, although not so much as in Examples I and II. The product was similar to those obtained in Examples I and II except that it was somewhat less viscous, and contained a larger amount of residual liberated isopropanol. The solubility characteristics of the product were similar to those of the freshly-prepared products of Examples I and II, as was its dispersing power for aqueous pigment slurries. Although some polymerization and crystallization took place upon standing, the bulk of the product remaind liquid and apparently unchanged for a period of several days, the solidification being limited to a slight deposit of crystalline material.

Example IV 233 parts of zirconium tetrachloride were dissolved in approximately 200 ml. of water and the resulting aqueous solution was added with stirring to 29.2 parts of Quadrol. Heat was evolved. The solution was cooled to 25 C. and 16 parts of sodium hydroxide dissolved in ml. of water were added with cooling. A clear solution of Quadrol zirconate, having a pH of 9, resulted.

Example V Example VI The procedure of Example I was again repeated substituting for the Quadrol 47 parts of N,N,N" triQB-hydroxyethyl) diethylene triamine. The product was a light-colored oil which crystallized partially on standing. Aqueous solutions of the titanate had a pH of 9 and did not hydrolyze at room temperatures but did so on boiling.

Example VII 103 parts of diethylene triamine were diluted with 500 parts of benzene and the solution cooled to C. 88 parts of ethylene oxide were passed into the cold solution, the reaction temperature being maintained at 25 C. or below. After the addition was completed the reaction mixture was refluxed gently for 1 hour, after which the benzene was stripped off leaving 190 parts of a lightyellow oil. The residual oil consisted essentially of a mixture of isomeric di-(B-hydroxyethyDdiethylene triamines having an apparent average molecular weight of approximately 185. The deviation of this value from theoretical for the isomers (192) was ascribed to the inclusion in the mixture of some residual low-boiling compounds.

37 parts of the oil were used in place of the Quadrol of Example I. The residual light-yellow oily product was soluble in water, ethanol and dioxane.

The compounds of the present invention may be described generically as the titanate and zirconate esters of aminoalcohols characterized by at least two nitrogen atoms linked through a divalent alkylene group, said two nitrogen atoms having between them a fl-hydroxyalkyl substituent and at least one other substituent selected from the group consisting of p-hydroxyalkyl and fl-aminoalkyl radicals. They are in general soluble both in water and in common organic solvents to form stable solutions, and are useful as dispersing agents, as additives to paint and varnish formulations to improve the durability and hardness of the films produced, for the treatment of wool and animal fibers to improve the properties thereof, and in various textile and cosmetic applications.

While this invention has been described and illustrated by the examples shown, it is not intended to be strictly limited thereto, and other variations and modifications may be employed within the scope of the following claims.

1. A water soluble ester of an element from the group consisting of titanium and zirconium with an aminoalcohol having the general formula:

/R! /R/ HOR-N\ /N\ RI! R! in which the R groups are selected from the group consisting of ethylene and lower alkyl-substituted ethylene radicals, at least one of the R groups is selected from the group consisting of ,B-hydroxy-lower alkyl and fi-aminolower alkyl radicals and the remaining R groups are selected from the group consisting of B-hydroxy-lower alkyl and fi-amino-lower alkyl radicals and hydrogen, and R is selected from the group consisting of divalent alkylene radicals containing from 1 to 3 carbon atoms and divalent alkylene amine radicals representable by the formula:

where n is from 1 to 2 and X is selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, lower alkyl hydrocarbon groups containing from 1 to 3 carbon atoms, fi-hydroxy-lower alkyl and fi-amino-lower alkyl radicals.

2. N,N,N',N tetrakis (2 hydroxypropyl)ethylenediamine titanate.

3. N,N,N,N' tetrakis(2 hydroxypropyl)ethylenediamine zirconate.

4. N (5 hydroxyethyl)diethylenetriamine titanate.

5. N,N,N tri(,3 hydroxyethyl)diethylenetriamine titanate.

6. N,N'-di(B-hydroxyethyl)diethylenetriamine titanate.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,579,414 Boyd Dec. 18, 1951 

1. A WATER SOLUBLE ESTER OF AN ELEMENT FROM THE GROUP CONSISTING OF TITANIUM AND ZIRCONIUM WITH AN AMINOALCOHOL HAVING THE GENERAL FORMULA: 